


Plagued By Madness

by fadedmira



Series: Once Upon A Time, [1]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood and Gore, Episode: e002 The Village That Went Mad, F/M, Im adding a little more plot though, Its basically town of salem, Minor Acts of Flirting and Romance, Multi, Murder Mystery, Not Beta Read, POV Second Person, Reader uses female pronouns, Reader-Insert, We Die Like Men, Web Series: Tales from the SMP, Witch Trials, also corpse's character is called CJ cause i am not calling him 'catboy', but ill try to avoid them as much as possible, but look like themselves, just a male version of helga, just harmless fluff and flirting, people kind of die though so theres no established relationships, quackity's is helge, so they go by their character names, this is apart of something bigger, you'll get what i mean okay, youll have to be patient to find out what though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-13 16:02:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29778636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fadedmira/pseuds/fadedmira
Summary: You don't know why you're here, or where you came from, but there's something not quite right about this little village in the butt-fuck middle of nowhere.
Relationships: Alexis | Quackity/You, Badboyhalo/You, Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF)/You, Corpse Husband (Video Blogging RPF)/You, GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)/You
Series: Once Upon A Time, [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2188653
Comments: 40
Kudos: 73





	1. New in Town

So, you didn't hate traversing dank, puddle-ridden trails to a long-forgotten village, but...

No, wait, you did. You really did.

Your arms ached from heaving a small travel suitcase with you, on foot, for at least an hour now. 

Both of your shoes were tracking mud and had lost their shine from earlier in the day.

Maybe it was your fault for assuming a carriage would take you to the town's doorstep. Most people thought the forest was haunted, so who in their right mind _would_ take you through it?

But were you really at fault for being at least a little optimistic?

You let out a low groan from your throat, shoulders burning from the weight of the case. It wasn't even that heavy, but having to trudge such a long way with it in your arms was beginning to take its toll.

Okay, maybe you should have been more nihilistic.

Why were you even doing this in the first place? You were sure there was some reason. Was it morbid curiosity? Did you have business within the town?

The more you tried to think about it, the hazier your head felt, so you abandoned that quite quickly.

Would it be much further?

Coupled with the tired aching of your limbs, you could see the sun's rays settling behind the twitching claws of the surrounding trees.

The night was nearing, and while you didn't believe this place was haunted, you didn't want to be proven wrong and end up a ghost haunting some tree-stump because the wildlife caught you off guard.

You heaved in a breath of cold- and surprisingly dusty- air into your lungs, trying to put a pep in your step and speed up. The prospect of dying was definitely an adequate motivator.

Your legs moved a little quicker, burning from the movement, but you pushed on, hair whipping lightly behind you as you jogged.

There was a town out here, right? You hadn't just imagined the entire thing?

No, you thought as you powered on down the muddy track, you hadn't. There was something inside you that pushed you to keep going, told you that you were nearly there.

In the distance, you spotted golden flecks of light, a tell-tale sign of life flickering in the dusklight.

So the town really did exist, and it was alive. You weren't just visiting an abandoned relic on a whim.

You couldn't help the small smile that stretched across your features, staining your nervous face with a happy expression.

"Finally," You huffed out through your lips, a weight lifting from your chest and finally allowing you to breathe. It was right there, in all its glory.

Despite having the town in sight, you didn't slow down, instead picking up the pace as you huffed and heaved, travel case acting as an anchor to your sinking ship. Why was it so bloody heavy? You barely packed anything into it!

The sun disappeared below the skeleton-trees just as you reached the first flickering lantern, your pathway now lit with golden candlelight, and you were so grateful.

You weren't scared of the dark, but you were still very much wary of what could be crawling about out there. A stray pack of wolves could be your undoing, and that in itself was enough to keep you on your toes.

You swallowed the lump in your throat and attempted to even out your breaths as you walked forth into the village. It wasn't cramped or bustling with life, but quiet and almost dead to the world. Not-A-Very-Good-Town really was isolated from everywhere and everything.

No wonder people thought it was a ghost town.

As you walked, you tried to take in all that was around you. You'd be here for some time, so it would be a start to get to know the place.

Tall cottages, but no taller than two-stories-high, lined the walkway, thatched roofs and wooden framework making up the majority you passed. They were painted a shoddy off-white, almost cream, if not for the chips and stains of mud that caked most walls and doorways. Definitely lived in and far from clean, but in a way that screamed natural and homely. 

The path you followed wasn't cobbled like you were expecting it to be, but instead a trodden dirt walkway, boot imprints barely visible to you in the flickering light. You imagined that years of townsfolk walking these trails lead to the paths, and you marvelled at the nature of man. 

Despite most of the village sitting in a dead space, there were a few bushes of green littered between the houses. No gardens, or any trees or flowers, but a few houses had creeper vines trailing up and down their sides. There was even a little bit of grass lining the pathway, albeit almost brown and definitely nearing death.

As you passed more of the buildings, you soon stumbled upon the town centre. A large cobble well sat proudly in the middle of more trampled dirt land. It looked almost out of place in the semi-run down, and very natural, surrounding village.

But it was rather pretty, and well looked-after. A shiny golden bell dangled from the roof of the well, alongside a used metal bucket that sat against the side of the well, filled halfway with muddied water.

You hope that wasn't directly from the well.

A throat cleared behind you, and you almost jumped out of your skin from the sudden sound, too busy eyeballing the town centre.

It was dark and late in the evening, for Christ's sake! Why would someone do that??

You shifted to face the presence behind you, pleasantly surprised to see a well-dressed man standing there. 

Since you had the chance to, you spent a couple of moments just scanning him over. Brown tufts of hair sat on his head, brushing lightly against his pale forehead. A set of glasses sat on his face, reflecting some nearby lantern light and partially obscuring his- grey? Green?- eyes. Whoever he was, he was dressed like a man of importance, in a dark red-purple waistcoat, and white dress shirt cuffed at his wrists. Around his neck hung some sort of amulet, maybe he was wealthy?

Why on Earth would a rich person live in a place like this?

"Oh, why, you're a fresh face!"

Standing quietly, you gave him a small smile and a nod. You admired his energy, especially for how late it was. No one else seemed to be out, and only a few houses had candles lit inside. Most of the homes had their curtains drawn, the inhabitants probably already knocked out in their beds. You didn't blame them, since you were exhausted as well.

"I am- I just arrived, actually." You hummed, lightly shifting the weighty travel case in your hands.

Rich-man glanced down, with green eyes you now realised, and let out an 'ahh' at the sight of your bag.

"Welcome to our wonderful town, Not-A-Very-Good-Town!" He cheered happily, reaching forward and swiping up a hand of yours to shake enthusiastically. You really liked his positivity.

"I'm Jimmy, this lovely place's mayor." You greeted him in return, telling him your name and glancing about.

Now that you had the chance to think, where were you supposed to stay? Did this village even have an Inn? It was pretty small, and definitely not a common tourist spot. Maybe you should've planned this little trip a bit better.

Jimmy readjusted his glasses, dropping your hand and taking a step back.

"It's my pleasure to meet a new little muffin such as yourself," Muffin? "we rarely get visitors these days!"

Maybe it was because everybody thought the place was haunted. Just to hazard a guess.

"Here," Jimmy reached forward and swiped the travel case from your hands. Now that you weren't dragging your limbs to carry the bag, your shoulders felt far lighter. You couldn't help but breathe out a sigh of bliss.

"Let me show you to the Inn! I'm sure you're tired. It's quite the ride to get here- and walk through that forest, too." He turned on his heel and started walking, setting a comfortable pace for you to keep up with.

He didn't really give you an option, either, since he was heading off with your only belongings.

As you walked beside him, he idly spoke at you about the village.

"Not-A-Very-Good-Town has been around for decades now. My father was the previous mayor, and his father before him. He passed down the duties to me a year or so ago." He told you, taking a right at a split in the trodden pathway.

"I may be new for a mayor, but I strive to help this town thrive!" Jimmy enthusiastically nodded his head, steps peppy and upbeat, and you didn't doubt his word for a second.

You were sure if anyone could turn around this town, lessen the fears of the outside world, it would be the optimistic man before you.

He took another right at a second junction.

"The townsfolk are lovely too! Apart from one fellow... He never fails to get on my nerves, that Helge..." He trailed off, before waving a hand in the air as if to disperse the thought. Happy-go-lucky attitude returning.

"I am sure you will meet most of them tomorrow. We aren't a big town, you see." You could see.

The whole town was probably smaller than the market place in the city you came from- uh, not that you could recall where that was right now. Weird.

"I'd love to. I wanted to ask around about some things, too." You replied nonchalantly, slowing to a halt as Jimmy stopped beside you. You wanted to ask why he had, but your eyes flicked up to a big wooden building and realised it was because you had reached your destination.

"Well, I'm sure everyone would be more than happy to help." Jimmy held open the Inn's door for you. Gentleman.

You passed through with a thank you and glanced about the interior. Nothing to write home about, just a normal reception area with a few sofa chairs, some tables scattered about, and a bar. And a man in overalls? Was that the bartender?

What was he wearing? He looked fit more for a _barn_ than a bar.

"Ah, hello CJ." Jimmy greeted the man with a polite wave, 'CJ' humming and stepping around the bar in favour of walking to the reception. As he did, you gave him a once over in appearance.

His skin was pale, much paler in comparison to Jimmy, and his eyes were a vibrant red that stared down at you, into your soul. Terrifying. His hair was curly and black, but far messier than Jimmy's, and knotted in places.

CJ wore blue overalls, muddied and fading, as well as a white- or more like brown since it was covered in more mud- shirt that clung to his arms, which were relatively muscly. So maybe he did work on a farm?

You spotted a set of elbow high gloves, and yeah, he must work on one. Why else would his outfit be so dirty? Why else would he have those gloves? Why else would he be so toned?

He walked by, sparing you a momentary glance before he situated himself behind the reception, leaning on his elbows to stare the both of you down once more.

Jimmy addressed you, catching your attention enough to drag your eyes away from the deep red of the new guy's. He was a bit intimidating.

"This is CJ! He's the Innkeeper, but he also works out on the farm with Jack." Lots of names to remember, you see.

"Yeah, that I do. Ya want a room?" Your eyebrows rose when CJ spoke, because Jesus Christ, you weren't expecting such a deep voice. It hit you right in the core. How could someone's entire voice just be bass?

He seemed to notice your shock and gave you a lazy smile before turning away and reaching into a tiny drawer. CJ pulled out a key on a piece of frayed string. 

"Here. Best room I've got. No one's ever here 'nyways, so it's all yours." He tossed the key towards you, and you barely managed to catch it as Jimmy began to scold CJ for being careless. You found the chiding quite human, and it brought a smile to your face. You briefly wondered if everyone got along so well in the town.

When Jimmy had stopped the one-sided bickering, CJ turned his head back to face you, nudging it towards a hall to the right of you.

"Up the stairs, end of the hall. Pretty big room, pretty big door, you can't really miss it." He told you, and you nodded in understanding, so grateful for the hospitality. Especially on such short notice. They hadn't even asked you to pay! You weren't even sure if you had any money on you, actually...

"Well, you muffin, I believe I'll let you settle in." Jimmy glanced over at you with a soft expression, holding out your travel case like it weighed nothing. You wish that were the case.

You thanked him profusely for carrying it, already feeling the positive effects it had on your back.

"I'll see you tomorrow! I would be happy to tour the town with you." He offered, and you just nodded enthusiastically at the offer. You were so grateful.

Pulling the travel case from his grasp, you gave him a faint wave as he left the building, before heading off to your own room for the evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i get it can be hard to tell whos-who, so ill put that in these notes when you meet new people!
> 
> jimmy - badboyhalo  
> CJ - corpse husband


	2. Breakfast Club

That was one of the soundest sleeps you have ever had.

You hadn't been expecting much, the Inn was run by one guy and was situated in a declining town after all, but the mattress was heavenly on your back and aching muscles. Not only that, but the room itself was rather homely.

CJ hadn't been exaggerating when he said the room was big. From what you could tell, it was double the size of the other rooms along the corridor. You were truly lucky to be given so much space.

The headboard of a king-sized bed was against the centre of the wall, opposite the door, and a big bay-window with curtains was situated directly behind it. If you were to clamber across the bed, you could sit up in the little cubby-hole and admire the city from the second story.

Maybe you would have last night if you weren't so tired.

Note to self, you should do that tonight.

A set of oak drawers was to the left of the bed, and a desk (with a lantern holding a burned-out candle atop it) was to the right of it.

Against the left wall was a big, probably double-the-size-of-you-big, wardrobe, with wooden hangers and pretty details etched into the doors; swirling, rectangular patterns. They were very pretty.

You would need to unpack some of your clothes into it later, but that could wait for now.

Near the right wall was a coffee table atop a fur rug and a comfortable-looking sofa chair with a couple of cushions.

A bowl of fresh fruit sat on the coffee table, taunting you. There was also a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf pushed into the furthest-right corner of the room.

The rest of the room was mostly empty space for you to roam, which you were thankful for. It gave you the chance to stretch your legs.

You felt spoiled.

Sure, they didn't get guests often, but they were that willing to let you stay in a place like this? The room had an ensuite, and a big ceramic bathtub for crying out loud! Which, in fairness, you couldn't wait to soak in, but still!

You brushed a hand through your hair a few times to try and untangle it, a sigh leaving you.

You really _were_ grateful, you'd have to find a way to properly thank Jimmy and CJ for this, and any trouble it causes.

Considering it was so early, you decided to have that bath now. And maybe you'd treat yourself to another one later; if you ended up covered in dirt that is (which was probably likely, since CJ, and whoever 'Jack' was, both worked at a farm).

Jimmy surely wasn't awake yet, so you would probably get to wander around town till he comes looking for you.

You towelled off your hair, water dripping onto the wood floor beneath you.

After an amazing bath, and you meant that with your entire being, you had gotten changed into your clothes for the day.

Something light, since you were due to walk a lot, but warm- it was cool outside.

You did up the last two buttons of your blouse and grabbed a small satchel that had been stashed within your travel case. There wasn't much inside, save for a tiny journal and some pens.

You grabbed a book from the shelves, some murder-mystery with an interesting title, and dropped it into the satchel before also dumping a fresh apple from the bowl into it.

A snack for later and something to keep you occupied if you got bored.

After that, you picked up a shawl and draped it over your shoulders and the satchel. Best to keep warm, especially with your damp hair and the cool morning air outside.

You stole the room key off the bedside table, and after slipping on your boots, made a beeline for the door.

Once locked, you walked along the squeaking floorboards of the hallway, down the stairs, and into the open reception-bar area.

Much to your surprise, CJ was sat with his back to you at one of the tables, chowing down on a plate of eggs-on-toast. With a still-steaming plate of the exact same meal across from him. Did he have company?

"Hey." His gravelly morning-voice greeted you without glancing back, and you almost did a double-take at how fucking low his voice could get. And also at his astute observational skills- or hearing. He didn't even need to look to know that you had come down.

"Uh, morning," You replied placidly, walking over to stand near his table. "Is someone else here?" You questioned, nodding your head in the direction of the plate of food. You didn't deny that it smelled delicious.

"Nah. That's breakfast." CJ hummed, gesturing his head to the plate as he ate another forkful of egg.

"Yours, that is. Unless ya not hungry?"

He had made you breakfast? _What?_

"...I haven't eaten since yesterday morning." You muttered, happily taking a seat opposite him.

He let out a gruff sound of approval, before returning to his own meal.

You dug into the food right away, hungry from the little food you'd gotten on your day of travel.

The eggs were divine- fluffy, and salty, and really well made. And the toast too, it wasn't undercooked and definitely wasn't burned. Cooked just right.

If CJ had been the one to make the meal, which you don't doubt he was, he happened to be one hell of a good cook.

Between bites, you glanced up at him, fully intending on thanking him for the meal. Before that, though, you realised he had finished his plate and was idly watching you eat.

You froze up at the sudden attention and awkwardly almost choked on the forkful of egg-and-toast in your mouth.

You sputtered and dropped your fork onto your plate, slamming a fist against your sternum to try and ease up the coughing fit.

It took a few moments of choking down your food for your throat to be cleared, but when you could finally breathe again, you let out a shaky sigh.

That was embarrassing.

You glanced up from staring at the table, catching CJ's eyes. He stared back at you with a tired and amused expression, but stayed quiet.

He wasn't mocking you or making a joke at your expense, which you appreciated.

You were definitely red in the face.

Really, it wasn't quite the second-impression you were going for with CJ, but from the entertained glint in his otherwise intimidatingly-red eyes, you supposed it would do.

He didn't look disgusted or anything, just pleasantly surprised and maybe a bit concerned.

"Th- Thanks, for the breakfast," You breathed out, clearing your throat again in an attempt to rid yourself of the breathlessness that followed your mini choking fit, "it was really good."

"'S not a problem. You good?" He asked with the same amused look. You could spot that underlying concern, though, which was sweet.

"Mhm, I'm fine." Swallowing, you continued to eat, though much slower. It wasn't that fun choking on food, especially with CJ around to laugh at you about it.

While you ate, CJ decided to strike up some conversation. He asked why you had come to the village, how long you intended to stay, what you were going to do.

You answered them all earnestly, deciding that being honest with him would be far better than lying.

You did have ulterior motives- you were sure of that, but you couldn’t quite recall what they were.

Though, you could try and put two-and-two together. People thought the town was haunted. You were there, with a journal and pen...

It looked like you were trying to confirm, or disprove the rumours.

"You think this town's... Haunted?" CJ looked on the verge of laughing, his voice raising an octave with amusement. Obviously, he believed in it about as much as you did.

"Personally? Not really." Using your fork, you pushed some egg about on your plate.

"I think it's all just rumours. People are probably just scared of the forest, or maybe it’s because the village looks rundown?" You took another bite of the breakfast, savouring the taste.

"Not to be rude. There's just a lot of dead grass and peeling paint from what I saw. Looks deserted from an outside perspective." You pointed your fork at him with a slight smile.

CJ actually _did_ laugh at that, and, like his voice, it was pretty deep and heavy. A little higher than when he actually speaks, though.

"Nah, you're right." CJ pushed his chair out and stood up, stretching until his back let out a sickening pop. "The town ain't in the best shape, and the forest is pretty scary to outsiders." 

You paused your eating for a moment, watching as he picked up his own plate.

"We ain't haunted,” He said that with certainty, “but there's definitely something going on here, I tell ya." CJ didn’t say anything after that, walking off to behind the bar, presumably towards a kitchen.

This left you alone, so you took the chance to finish the remainder of your breakfast, thinking the entire time.

What on Earth could he mean by that? Was there some underlying secret? Some association, a cult maybe? Or did he mean the town was corrupt? Was it _supernatural?_

No, wait, ghosts come under supernatural.

You let out a frustrated huff. You didn't want to play a guessing game, but the cryptic sentence had really thrown you for a loop. Whatever CJ meant, you were sure he wasn't intending on elaborating.

That said, it wouldn't hurt to try asking him later when you returned from your little outing. Maybe he'd humour you and explain what he meant.

Once the plate was empty, you stood up with a content sigh. You felt stuffed- that was a great, _free_ meal. 

If everyone was as sweet and hospitable as CJ and Jimmy had been, you're not sure how the rumours of a haunted town had even come about. While Not-A-Very-Good-Town wasn't necessarily bustling with life, it was still very much alive in spirit.

"I'll take that." You jumped at the sudden voice; CJ had caught you off guard, knocking you straight out of your daydream as he snatched the empty plate and cutlery from your hands.

Before you could even get a word in sideways, he walked back off to behind the bar and through a door with a whistle. Some jovial tune, you noted.

Upbeat for such an edgy-looking man, but you had already discerned that he was indeed quite lovely.

You were never one to judge by appearance anyway, much more interested in getting to know someone before actually judging their character. Some were a bit easier to judge, though.

Like Jimmy for instance.

"There you are!" A cheerful voice echoed through the mostly-empty establishment, the front door smacking against the side of the wall. It would've startled you if you hadn't already heard his voice outside, greeting a few of the other townsfolk before he came inside.

"Morning Jimmy." You stepped around the table and headed over to meet him near the door, more than prepared for that tour.

Though you _had_ been looking forward to wandering a little beforehand, this would be just as good. Jimmy was a pleasant person to be around.

"Have you eaten? Are you ready to go? I know a wonderful bakery nearby, we can go get some muffins if you're hungry! Or we could start the tour right away! There's so much I can show you-"

Wow. Jimmy sure could talk a lot.

His excited drabble continued only until CJ walked back out of the probably-kitchen door, drying his hands with a dirty towel.

All of the plans Jimmy was coming up with came to a halt as he turned to face the man, bidding him a good morning.

"You headin' out?" CJ directed towards you, glancing between the both of you as he spoke. He set the towel down on the bar, propping his hands atop the surface and leaning against it.

"Yeah. Jimmy's going to take me around, have a look at the town." You paused, considering offering that he comes along with the both of you.

You ultimately decided against it, though.

CJ lived here and probably had work to attend to at the farm- if you were lucky enough, maybe you would cross paths with him again later. 

You also wondered if you would both be having dinner together later.

That'd be nice.

"Come on then you silly muffin." Jimmy wrapped an arm around your shoulders and pulled you out the door before you could get another word in, CJ simply calling out a low 'bye' before the door clicked shut behind you.

"Time to get exploring!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you guys dont mind all this build up!! you'll be meeting most of the others in the next few chapters (which should hopefully be a bit longer too)  
> till then, hope you enjoyed the CJ/corpse interaction :)


	3. Tours 'n Townsfolk

The mayor tugged you along beside him, dropping his hold on your shoulders to point out various places and buildings. Most of them were village houses, homes for the townsfolk, but some were places of work or places of relaxation.

You noticed a few people out walking around town, but Jimmy made no move to introduce you to them yet. Maybe he wanted to show you around before introducing you to the townsfolk?

"Oh, this is the bakery I was telling you about!" Jimmy excitedly motioned towards a small building, shelves of freshly baked bread and a few pastries sitting at the window.

Inside you saw someone idly sitting at the counter, reading a book with his head in his hand.

"Little Robin works there!" Little robin? "Poor boy had to take over the business once his father passed..." This felt surprisingly personal for you to be hearing about it. 

"Why don't we pay him a visit! I'll get you a muffin, my treat." Jimmy suggested, ushering you towards the bakery.

You had already eaten, but you could just nibble on the baked goods while you walked. You didn't want to turn Jimmy down, not when he was offering you a treat.

You pushed open the glass door with a quiet bell chime.

"Welcome to- oh! Mr Mayor, hi!" Robin greeted the both of you, dropping the book in his hand onto the desk. Chess strategies?

The boy rushed around the counter to properly say hello to the mayor, and while he happily chattered to the man, you had a good look at him.

Robin had brown hair sticking out from under a straw hat, leaves and a couple of twigs sticking out from the item atop his head. Similar to his hair, his eyes were brown; large and warm as he excitedly spoke with Jimmy. As he did, you noticed the hint of an accent there, too. 

He was dressed in a white shirt and some grey-green shorts, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, probably since he was working with flour and such all day.

The messy nature of baking explained the white apron tied around his waist too- how did this kid keep a bakery running all by himself, though? It seemed like a multi-person job.

You snapped back to attention once Jimmy introduced you, reaching over to shake the hand that Robin held out to you.

"I'm Robin! I'm an orphan." He jovially told you, a bright smile on his face. Weirdly happy for telling you his parents had died.

Silence followed his sudden statement, because why wouldn’t it, and you coughed to try and break the weird tension that had taken root.

Robin was a bit of an odd kid.

"It's- uh, it's nice to meet you, Robin." You greeted with a tight laugh, retracting your hand as he skipped back around the counter, settling in at the front.

Jimmy didn't seem to notice the awkward air that had settled either, so you opted to ignore it as well.

Maybe this was just an odd town.

"What can I do for you?" Robin hummed, pushing the book he’d been reading off to the side. He splayed his fingers onto the counter, tapping them in boredom.

“We’ll take two muffins, Robin! A chocolate and a- what do you want?” Jimmy turned to face you, nodding towards the glass case of muffins nearby.

You got to pick?

“How’s about...” You glanced over the flavours, contemplating what mood you were in. “A blueberry muffin sounds nice.”

“And a blueberry muffin!”

Jimmy reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out a pouch. You were expecting him to be rich, but when he opened it, you were astonished.

It was filled to the brim with gold coins, and you could even see a few _diamonds_ among the rest.

Holy shit, he was minted.

Robin picked out the chocolate and blueberry muffins, setting them into a brown paper bag and passing them off to Jimmy. In turn, he gave the kid six gold coins.

Was Robin scamming the mayor...?

“Pleasure doing business with you.” Robin chirped, dropping the gold into his own (much emptier) pouch behind the counter.

That was a high price for a couple of muffins.

“And you, Robin! We ought to be on our way,” Jimmy nodded his head and pushed his glasses back up when they slipped from the bridge of his nose, “have a good day!”

You were back out the door in seconds; Jimmy was a very touchy person. He hooked an arm around yours and tugged you alongside him, back to leading you around like a lost puppy. At least this time you had a tasty blueberry muffin to snack on while he talked to you.

The two of you walked for some time.

You had seen most residential homes, and he declared that you only had the butchers and farm to visit, as well as the dungeons if you really wanted to go there.

You weren’t too keen, but also figured it would be best to know where it was just in case.

On your way to the butchers, your attention was suddenly brought back to the here-and-now.

“-and that there is _my_ house! Isn’t it wonderful?”

You’d dozed off, halfway through the muffin when he spoke loud in excitement. It definitely snapped you out of your thoughts, and you glanced up at the-

“Holy shit?” That was basically a mansion! It was huge!

Jimmy’s house easily rivalled the size of the town’s Inn, which had two floors and at least twelve rooms from what you had counted. It was maybe a _little_ smaller, but what did that matter? He could probably house the entire populace of the town within just that building.

Jimmy visibly bristled, with a stern expression on his face, wagged a finger at you.

“Language!” Huh? “Swearing isn’t very polite.” He lectured, and you immediately felt bad for letting the words slip past your lips.

It was also weird being lectured by a grown man about trivial things such as cursing, but you were staying in his town, so you didn’t intend to argue. You didn’t swear that much anyway.

“Sorry Jimmy- your house is, um, well,” You wanted to tell him politely that it looked more expensive than all the other houses combined, but that would probably be a bit rude, so you didn’t.

“It’s really pretty.”

And that it was. This was one of the only places you had seen actual greenery. Vines with pink and red flowers lined the front of the house, curling around the doorway and up around the windows. It was clean, painted a genuine creamy colour with dark brown accents from the dark-wood framework. A small porch stood before the front door, a rocking chair out front idly dancing back and forth in the slight breeze.

And this was only the outside- you couldn’t start to imagine what it was like inside.

It was honestly nicer than any houses you had seen before, even counting the ones in the city.

“I’m happy to hear that you like it! My father had it built a decade ago and it has stood tall and proud-“

“-and in the way, since.” A new voice piped up, and you really wondered how so many people could keep sneaking up on you.

Were you destined to meet most of the town that way? You hoped not.

“Oh, muffins,” Wait, was that a substitute curse? “Not you...”

You swivelled in place to look at the new face, eyes landing on a tan man in...

Uh.

In nothing?

“Helge! Put some clothes on, for Heaven’s sake!” Jimmy yelled in evident embarrassment, his face burning up in an instant at the sight of the practically-naked man.

It took you a second to register that ‘Helge’ wasn’t in _nothing_ , but a pair of boxers.

When your brain caught up with you, your face erupted in heat. You stumbled to hastily turn away from the sight.

You were not going to accidentally check out one of the town’s residents. You had enough trouble earlier with CJ and his voice, the last thing you needed right now was a _heavily_ underdressed man in front of you. What was your luck?

“Why? What’s the matter can’t help but _stare_?” Helge flirted, and you could see in your peripheral vision that he had draped himself around Jimmy’s shoulders.

Jimmy stuttered in an attempt to get some words out, and you honestly didn’t blame his blunder.

Whoever this Helge guy was, he was ballsy walking about in broad-daylight in just his underwear. Either he had no shame, or was absolutely piss-drunk right now.

His words weren’t slurred, so you were left assuming it was the former.

Maybe he was just stupid.

“Cat got your tongue, darling?” Helge drawled, smacking his lips together in an over-exaggerated attempt to kiss the mayor... Who really wasn’t having it.

“Get off of me!” Jimmy complained, nudging Helge’s arms off his shoulders and taking a few steps back. He looked pretty frazzled.

Helge let out a high-pitched laugh, slapping his hands onto his bare thighs as he hunched over.

You exchanged a questioning look with Jimmy, since you had no idea what was going on, and he seemed to regain his composure at remembering you were still here.

Jimmy cleared his throat and stepped around Helge to return to your side.

“Helge, please, we have a guest here.” Jimmy muttered in an attempt to get Helge to behave, but the man simply continued to laugh. Only once he caught your eye did his laughter taper off into little giggles, before he was wiping faux tears from his eyes and looking over at the two of you in full.

You glanced awkwardly between the ground and Jimmy, refusing to look over at the sort of-naked guy.

“A guest, ey? Who’re you? Have I got some competition? Or a new option to pick from, maybe? ” Helge batted his eyelashes, coming up a bit too close for your comfort. He leaned into your personal space, barely a breath’s distance away from you.

How on Earth were you supposed to not stare when he was right in front of you?

“Um- uh, I, no?” You fumbled over your own words, attempting to get something, anything out.

You blatantly made a point of looking directly at his face and no lower.

Now that you were getting a decent look, you took his facial features in. Much to your surprise, Helge was actually quite easy on the eyes.

He had black hair swept across his tan forehead, sticking out from under a dark blue beanie that was similar in colour to the underwear you didn’t see because you weren’t looking down there.

You hadn’t seen anything.

What you could see was his eyes, which were dark, almost black in colour, and oh Jesus he was staring directly at you, had he said something? He absolutely just caught you ogling.

“See something you like?” Helge taunted, proving to push the boundaries even further as he leaned closer and closer. Your face burned up within seconds, his nose brushing against yours.

Your heart actually stuttered.

“Oh my gosh, Helge, please! You’re going to give the poor woman a heart attack.” Jimmy jumped to your rescue, stepping in and lightly pulling you a few stumbling steps backwards.

Your heart was racing, your mouth dry and your face beet red.

The light weight in your hand brought you back to reality, and you glanced down at the half-eaten blueberry muffin. You were thankful it hadn’t been dropped in the entire ordeal- it would be a shame if Jimmy’s money went to waste.

Helge’s enthusiastic laughing started up again and he backed up a few steps, evidently finding amusement in embarrassing you. That didn’t sound too far-fetched. He was doing that to Jimmy earlier, too.

Jimmy spoke your name softly, “I’m so sorry for him... He’s a bit of a handful.”

“Yeah, I can be, in more ways than one if you know what I mean.” Helge mimed... A pretty obscene hand gesture and you flushed a darker red, thoughts returning towards the more embarrassingly inappropriate kind. Did he have no filter?

Jimmy began shouting at him again, this time chewing him out for the unsuitable comment and hand gesture. That only spurred Helge on more, whining about how he ‘shouldn’t get his panties in a twist’ between laughs.

To try and calm the blazing heat in your cheeks, you turned away from the scene and looked about.

Over in the distance you noticed a sign with ‘Steak Connoisseur’ hastily painted on in cursive, and through the glass, you could just about make out slabs of meat hanging from hooks on the ceiling.

Was that the butchers?

You didn’t want to leave Jimmy as that would be rude, especially with Helge continuing to mock and flirt with the man, but you also weren’t sure if your heart could handle more of Helge right now.

He’d be able to forgive you, right?

Sure.

While the two of them were distracted by each other’s words, you slipped away towards the ’Steak Connoisseur’ in hopes of meeting someone new. You kicked up specks of dirt as you walked and chewed on little bits of your muffin, the childish bicker-flirting-whatever becoming quieter the further away you got. Your raging heart began to calm down too, cheeks cooling down in the fresh morning breeze.

You were still a little distracted, but that was kind of understandable when a guy in only boxer shorts was close enough to brush noses with you.

Soon enough, you were at the door, and with a gentle push, it opened inwards. The inside stunk strongly of iron, and raw meat, which made sense because slabs of the latter hung up around the room.

Standing- no, sitting slouched over at the counter was a man with dark brown hair. A pair of white-framed sunglasses covered his eyes, and his head was cradled in one of his hands. From what you could see, he wore a white button-up, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the top two buttons undone. A black, flat top-hat was hanging up on the wall, along with a short-sleeved overcoat of the same colour.

For a moment you thought he was looking at something on the counter, maybe some dirt or an interesting pattern in the wood, but quiet snores left him and you realised that he was actually sleeping, head tilted down.

You snorted out a laugh at the unprofessionalism and laughed a little harder when the man jolted up and out of his chair, falling to the floor with a thud.

“Sorry!” You rushed over to the counter with a giggle, hearing mumbled complaints from the sleepy stranger. His glasses sat on the floor, undamaged, and you noticed he had oddly coloured eyes; one a vibrant bright blue, the other a tawny brown. They stared up at you in a hazy, tired confusion, and you couldn’t help but stare back because, wow, they were quite the sight.

The man rubbed his wrist against his eyes, pushing himself up to a stand. He picked up the glasses and propped them back upon his face, shielding you from seeing his pretty eyes.

“Sorry.” You repeated, wringing your hands together with a sheepish look.

“It’s alright.” He spoke out, his voice high, and accented similarly to little Robin from earlier.

You stood there expectantly, assuming he would ask what you wanted or introduce himself, but he instead just perched on his chair, looking at you with a blank expression. The glasses didn’t help much in soothing your nerves, since you couldn’t see what he was thinking.

The silence was a bit unnerving and heavy, so you cleared your throat and gave him a small smile.

“...Have a nice nap?”

“Uh, yeah.” Once again he said the bare minimum, and you felt lost for words.

This guy was terrible conversation.

Still, you powered on through, introducing yourself to him with an outstretched hand. Luckily, he didn’t dismiss you, and took your hand in a slow, lax handshake.

Obviously, he was still tired.

“I’m visiting the town for a bit, and uh, was just touring it with the mayor.” You told him, and he nodded lazily in response. It seemed he got the hint, though, and once you broke apart from the handshake, he introduced himself.

“Well, I’m Miles. The village... Butcher, I guess.” Miles didn’t seem very enthusiastic about the job, and the fact he was sleeping earlier drove that home.

“It’s nice to meet you, Miles.” You offered him another warm smile, and even if you couldn’t see his eyes, you _think_ the smile he gave you back reached them.

“You too,” He started to say your name, when the glass door opened with a click, hitting the wall.

You swivelled in place, facing a frustrated Jimmy with Helge draped across his arm. If looks could kill, you believe everyone in the room would be dead by the sheer intensity of the death glare on Jimmy’s face.

When he looked at you, the expression softened, and he shook his head while removing Helge from himself.

“Heavens there you are! You silly muffin I thought you’d gotten lost.” He chided, walking over and patting a hand to your head. Well, that was domestic.

“Nope,” You shucked his hand from your head, smoothing out the stray bits of hair before motioning over to Miles, “I was just meeting your butcher.”

Miles hummed at the mention of himself, waving a languid hand at Jimmy. The man glanced at Miles for a moment before nodding his head.

“Yes! Miles, our butcher... He’s a bit of a reluctant worker, always sleeping on the job,” You had noticed, “but he’s good at what he does!”

By that point, Helge had decided that he was bored. He took a few heaving steps towards you, still very much not dressed, and wrapped his arms around yours and Jimmy’s shoulders. You tried to protest, but he simply pulled the two of you together, closer, your cheek pressed embarrassingly against his bare shoulder blade.

“Well! This’s been fun,” He squeezed your shoulder, fuck, you’d only just managed to calm your beating heart, “buuut I think we’ll be on our way! See ya butcher boy.”

Helge dragged both of you stumbling through the door. His hold on you loosened a little, but his arm stayed settled around your shoulders, pulling you flush against him. You noticed Jimmy was still very much in his hold too.

“Where to now darling?” Helge turned his head away from you to face Jimmy, who groaned about not being his ‘darling’, and told him the farm.

“The farm? Ew.” You huffed air through your nose in a quiet laugh.

“I’m sure you’d much rather come back to my house, wouldn’t you?” Helge turned to you this time, tilting his head to the side to look you in the eye with that intoxicating gaze.

You stumbled over your feet for a second, but Helge kept you upright with a hand on your forearm, the other arm still weighing down on your shoulders.

“I’ll take that as a yes, since ya know, you’re already fallin’ for me and all.”

Admittedly, that did pull a laugh out of you, and you shoved a hand against his chest to try and push his face away from your ear.

“Hah, yeah, yeah.” You chuckled and, surprisingly, Helge actually paid attention to your actions. He pulled back from your neck, giving you at least enough space to breathe. His arm was still draped over you like a blanket though, and you noticed that Jimmy was free from his other arm.

You weren’t so lucky, still pressed up against his side (but at least he wasn’t in _sniffing_ distance anymore).

The three of you continued to walk along the dirt track, shockingly silent considering Helge was quite the loudmouth. You were halfway down a muddier path that lead out into the forest when he broke the silence again, obviously antsy with how quiet it was.

“What’s a lovely lady like you even doin’ here?”

“Helge, you can’t just ask her why she’s in town...!”

“Jim-Jim that’s exactly what I’m doing. Stop overreacting.”

“You are _so_ impolite, Helge! Please don’t mind him-“

“Fuck, I’m just curious! Stop hammering me about it.”

“Language!”

You noticed that the two of them were having another domestic spat, except this time you didn’t have the option to turn tail and run as Helge held you firmly around the shoulder. Hopefully, the farm wouldn’t be too far.

Both of them continued to argue the whole way there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so you're on your way to the farm!! wonder what will be waiting in store for you three  
> also i really appreciate comments, they motivate me a lot !
> 
> robin - tubbo  
> helge - quackity  
> miles - george


	4. Old Macdonald Had A Farm

“Honestly! Where _are_ your manners-“

You leaned around Helge to flick Jimmy in the shoulder, ultimately shutting him up from the surprise of the action. Thank God, really, because the both of them hadn’t stopped once during the twenty minutes it took to reach the farm.

It was midday when you finally got there, and the sky had clouded over, a blanket of grey staring down at you menacingly. Not only that, but a cool breeze had settled in- it wasn’t as warm as it was earlier in the day.

The heaven’s wanted to rain on your parade, literally, it seemed.

Jimmy spoke your name in surprise, “what was that for? You know that’s quite impolite and-“

“Um well, we’re here, is all.” You motioned a hand to the towering barn in front of you, and the even larger fields that spanned ahead.

As it turns out, not _all_ of the town was within the confines of the horrifying forest. The farm stood proud and tall, barely skirting the edge of the woodlands. It made sense since there were quite a few cows, sheep and horses roaming the grassy plains.

They wouldn’t live happy lives within the darkness of the forest, where the grass was decaying and the sunlight was minimal.

You imagined that it was nicer to breathe the fresh air and eat the plentiful green grass that the plains had to offer.

“Oh! That we are, you’re right.” Jimmy dropped whatever point he was trying to make with Helge, and instead began to tour you once again. The difference was Helge still clung to your side, his arm rested comfortably on your shoulders as he leaned against you.

He wasn’t that much taller than you, though- if he was something like six feet, you’re sure that you would’ve toppled over by now.

“Come on, come on, this way.”

Jimmy ushered the both of you onwards, bringing you down a dirt track that had tractor imprints. It was wet and muddy, and the dirt clung to your honestly-ruined-by-now shoes.

A refreshing breeze hit your skin and cooled your warm cheeks. Beside you, Helge shivered, leaning into you a bit more.

You wish you were used to the close proximity by now, but you really weren’t.

“Helge, this is why you should wear clothes! It’s not always warm, you know.” Jimmy chastised as Helge mockingly mimicked his voice, flipping his back off.

“Whatever, I’m too _hot_ to get cold.”

As much as you’d like to believe that, the shivering told another story.

You mentally pat yourself on the back for bringing the shawl, because this was the exact (well, not _exact_ ) situation you had been planning for.

You cleared your throat to get Helge’s attention. He hummed and glanced down at you, almost whining when you shouldered his arm from around you.

“What-“

Before he could complain, you pulled the shawl from your shoulders and- though it embarrassed you immensely to do- pulled it tight around his instead.

“You should stay warm.” You commented idly, brushing down his shoulders as he stared down at you in surprise with those dark eyes, that were really distracting honestly, looking him in the eye and _not_ losing focus was a hard task- and oh you did it again.

“Yeah! Uh, yeah, yeah stay warm, don’t want to catch a cold.” Turning away from him, you jogged over to Jimmy in an attempt to escape him and the awkward atmosphere you were probably creating.

He surprisingly stayed quiet, and if you had opted to spare him a glance, you would have seen him pulling the fabric tight around his shoulders, burying his nose in the shawl. _To keep warm_ , he told himself, but he wasn’t going to lie that the smell of it wasn’t half bad.

“Show me around?” You asked, to which the mayor excitedly nodded and began leading you around.

Before you was the gigantic red barn, easily double the size of the two-story inn back in town. It was dirty, with paint peeling along the sides from the weather’s wear and tear. You realised it was old, probably built around when Jimmy’s father’s father ran the place.

As you got closer, you could hear the snorting of pigs, and beating feathers of chickens inside. There were also a few voices muffled by the wooden walls; Jack and CJ, maybe?

You walked up to the large double doors of the barn, but before entering glanced around. A farmhouse sat to the side of the barn, smoke puffing up and out of the chimney. It had two stories, and a porch like Jimmy’s mansion-house, but wasn’t nearly as big.

Red creeper danced along the walls of the house, creating a beautifully bloody masterpiece on the dark brown walls of the home.

A small lake sat on the other side of the farmhouse as well, with a little dock and some barrels. You doubt there would be much fish to be caught, but it was still a cute little jetty.

The entire place was homely, and you almost envied the farmers that worked here. What you didn’t envy was the near-thirty minute trek that CJ had to make every day to get to and from town.

“Oh! Sounds like Jack’s inside. Come on.” Jimmy caught your wrist in a soft hold before you could say anything, and tugged you through the big doors.

The inside was as massive as the outside, with hay stacked up at the back and pens lining the sides. A man was chatting away as he tended to the pigs and their food. There was a hayloft as well, or at least the scaffolding for one to be built.

It looked like another man was in the middle of doing just that.

“And then we can-“

“Gentlemen!” Both parties that were speaking grew silent at the intrusion, the man feeding the animals turning to face the both of you. Whoever was on the second-floor building simply climbed back down his ladder, plopping down onto a hay bale and looking towards you.

“Mayor, nice to see you.” The builder-man spoke, fanning a hand towards himself in an attempt to cool down. It did look rather stuffy.

“Yeah, hi Jimmy.” The other man responded, chucking a mixture of grains into the pigs’ feeder. He stepped out of the pen and wiped his hands off on his trousers.

Both men gave you questioning glances, to which you sheepishly smiled and waved a hand.

Helge suddenly popped up behind you, draping himself over you like a cloak. Your movements stuttered at that, and you whacked a hand at his arm, complaining at him to get off.

“Lovely to see the both of you.” Jimmy greeted, lightly smacking Helge’s arms so he would unwrap himself from around you. Which he did, reluctantly.

“Please! Meet our new guest,” He motioned for you to introduce yourself, and so you complied. Once you had told them your name, a light bulb seemed to go off in the builder’s head.

“Oh yeah, CJ mentioned ya when he stopped by earlier. Yer the gal stayin’ at the inn?” You nodded in response, and he seemed to smile a little bigger.

“Neat. Name’s Bob, and that over there’s Jack.” That made sense, it seemed like Jack was working more on the farm work while Bob built.

Jack wore a brown tunic over a yellowing cream shirt. He had some lighter brown pants, and black rubber boots on his feet. His hair was brown, scrappy and cut short, and he had tan skin and terrifyingly dark eyes. Unlike Helge, you weren’t too keen on gazing into them.

Bob had a white button-up rolled up to his elbows, and a pair of black slacks held up by suspenders. He had heavy-duty boots on, and... A silver watch around his wrist?

His hair was better-kept than Jack’s, black and brushed back. Bob’s face was covered in stubble and a few scars from, presumably, building and such. What caught you off guard was his vibrant green eyes. He was watching you with a large smile on his face. Teeth pearly and white.

“Bob’s just taking care of some renovations for CJ ‘n me, a hayloft would come in handy for us.” Jack explained, heading over towards the chickens to chuck some buckwheat into their indoor pen.

Bob nodded, picking idly at the hay bale below him.

“Yeah, s’easy as pie, just gotta fit in some wooden boards ‘n make sure the structure’s all sound, and Bob’s yer uncle- or yer builder, I guess.” You snorted at his comment, and that seemed to get a positive reaction out of Bob.

“You’re welcome to join me in feeding the rest of the animals- the cows’ and horses’ feeders are outside. Same with the sheeps’.” Jack offered, and you genuinely considered it for a moment. It would be nice to lend a helping hand, pay back to the town that was offering you so much.

Unfortunately, Helge wasn’t too interested in you leaving to do other things. Not when he was around.

“Nah, we’re all good.” Helge hummed, smirking as he rested his elbow precariously on your head. You shrunk away from him, slipping under his arm and walking to stand on the other side of Jimmy.

Helge let out a frustrated huff, pouting in faux-hurt. You stuck your tongue out at him childishly.

You didn’t get why Helge was so hell-bent on being clingy with you, but maybe he had a point. You still had some plans, so maybe you could take a rain check and help out tomorrow.

“Thank you for the offer, really, but I’ve actually got some things I need to do first.” You sent him an apologetic look, but Jack simply shrugged his shoulders and continued to feed the chickens over in the next pen.

“Suit yerself. CJ’s at the house if you wanna say hi to him.” Bob called, once more ascending the ladder to tend to the soon-to-be hayloft.

CJ was here? Well, you did want to thank him properly for breakfast earlier, since you didn’t get the chance to earlier. It would be nice to pay him a visit anyway.

“Have fun you two!” Jimmy called as he turned around, the three of you exiting the barn again. The vibe in there could be cosy, if Jack and Bob weren’t so... Weird.

Bob’s huge grin disturbed you, and Jack kept staring at you with this lifeless look in his eyes.

Creepy.

“Ya met CJ?” Helge hummed, back on you because obviously, he needed to be touching you at all times, apparently.

“Yeah, he’s pretty nice.” You recalled, thinking back to this morning and how accommodating he had been. “He made breakfast for me this morning, he’s an amazing cook.”

You were surprised when Helge grunted out ‘sure he is’, and even _more_ surprised when his hand started idly playing with your hair, twisting strands between his fingers.

“You should stay with me instead, that inn’s old as fuck-“ “Language!” “-and I bet the bed is nothing in comparison to _mine_.” He teased, dragging his fingers down the back of your head to rest at the base of your neck.

You shivered, back to being flushed red. He was so touchy, and while you didn’t hate it, not at all, it embarrassed you beyond anything that some stranger was capable of making you putty.

“The inn’s actually really nice,” You refrained from leaning into his touch, “and CJ’s been so lovely to me- he gave me the biggest room! I wouldn’t want to, well, be ungrateful?”

You didn’t even know if Helge was offering you genuinely, or just continuing to flirt at you like he had been the past hour or two.

His eyebrows furrowed, so you guess he was being serious.

“And I’ve already unpacked.” No you hadn’t. But if it got Helge off your back, then what’s a little white lie?

He seemed to sigh, pressing most of his weight against you, but he relented. “Fine, you’re missing out though. I’ll keep the bed warm for you, just in case.” Helge muttered into your ear, and the hair on the back of your neck (where his hand was _still_ ) bristled.

You just nodded, letting him stay where he was, trailing behind Jimmy towards the house.

As you neared, you noticed a literal dozen and a half cats piled at the doorway, clawing and meowing and wanting to be let in. What the hell?

Whatever questions you had were answered when CJ opened up the door, ushering the cats aside with two big bowls of wet cat food. He set them apart on the porch, and went back inside only to return with two bigger bowls filled with water. He set those down, too, before noticing your party of three.

CJ seemed to perk up at the sight of you, greeting you with a two-finger wave.

“Hey.”

“CJ, hi!” You pulled away from the comfort of Helge’s hand, and he visibly scowled at CJ before switching his attention over to Jimmy. The mayor was subjected to more taunting and fake flirting, poor guy.

Making your way over towards him, you weaved around the stray cats. They were all too occupied by the cat food to pay you much mind.

“I just wanted to say hi before we headed back- Jimmy’s going to show me the dungeons, I think, but I... Uh-“ You wrung your hands together, getting distracted by the cats curling around your feet.

“Uhh...” Oh, shoot, you lost your train of thought.

“You?” CJ drew out, raising an eyebrow at you with that contagious smile of his. God, you still weren’t over his voice just yet.

Your brain stuttered, and soon enough remembered what you were going to say.

“Right! I wanted to thank you for breakfast this morning. It was so delicious, you’re such a great cook,” You complimented, thinking back to the tasty meal. He felt like an angel sent down from heaven for you, giving you both a place to stay and food to eat. “Thanks for doing that.”

“No problem,” He held out his hand towards you and you stared at it in confusion. “We can call it even- for what you’re doin’ for the town, ‘n all.” CJ lifted his hand up a little higher, motioning with his head towards it.

You finally got what he was doing, and reached down to take it.

You shook hands- his was rough and calloused, obviously from farm work, but he had a certain gentleness about the way he held your hand. Like your hand would shatter into a million tiny little pieces if he held it too hard.

“It’s really nothing, especially in comparison to what you’ve done for me already!” You shot back, smiling a bit brighter when that same laugh of his entered your ears.

“You’re a bit stubborn aren’tcha. Just take the thanks,” He hummed, looking down at you with this happy glint in those genuinely intoxicating red eyes.

It was easy to get lost in them. Blood red, but now that you had seen them so much, far less intimidating. They were warm and inviting, pulling you in- and you were staring.

You did that a lot, fuck, what was with this town and its residents? They were all so distracting.

Once you caught yourself and you cleared your throat, looking down at the cats rubbing themselves against your leg. “Fine, fine, I will... On one condition?”

“And what’s that?”

You tilted your head from side to side, before giving him a cheeky grin. He was probably going to offer it later anyway, but you just wanted to be sure.

“Have dinner with me?” More like make dinner for you, but you wanted to eat it with him too. Ask about that cryptic message from earlier, and also... Well, his food was really good.

So y’know.

From a few steps behind you, CJ and the cats, you heard the stomping of feet and a few rocks being kicked about. Momentarily, you glanced back, and were more than surprised to see Jimmy alone. Helge was off in the distance, arms crossed over his chest and hands bunched up in your shawl, storming back down the path to the village.

What was that about?

“That’s a tempting offer.” CJ brought you back to facing him, squeezing your hand that was apparently still in his hold. You didn’t really want to let go, because it was warm and his pretty much encompassed your entire hand.

Mentally deciding to ask Helge about his premature leave later, you let out a laugh and played along. “Isn’t it? I’ll have the best cook I know make it for us.”

“Who’ll that be?”

“He works at this inn I’m staying in temporarily- goes by CJ, you may have heard of him?”

CJ hummed as if he was deep in thought, rubbing circles on the side of your thumb idly. Well that made you want to leave even less. His touch was so soft for someone with a voice and appearance like his.

“Sounds like a date.”

Wait, what?

“Oh muffins, we really should head back!” Jimmy cut you off before you could even ask CJ what he meant, stepping over some of the strays that still sat at your feet.

“If you wish to do some of your own exploring before the sun sets, it would be best if we returned to the village!”

CJ dropped your hand without any complaints, sending you a warm smile as he bid you goodbye. He walked back into the farmhouse just as Jimmy picked up the hand he had let go of, leading you off down the muddy path once more.

Your mind was still lagging a few minutes behind, had CJ said date? What??

As well as that, what was with Helge storming off earlier?

And... You glanced down at yours and Jimmy’s entwined hands.

“Hey, Jimmy?” You broke the silence as you wandered side by side, hand in hand (apparently) along the muddy path.

“Mm?” He hummed in response, looking back at you with that soft and positive expression he always had on.

“Why did Helge run off earlier? Did he have stuff to do?” You mused as Jimmy swung your arms back and forth, you knew he was touchy, but you’d only known him for a day and... Glancing over at him, you noticed a content and bright smile on his face.

Oh, who were you to ruin his good mood? It wasn’t hurting you.

You squeezed his hand and watched his cheeks go pink. That brought an amused smile to your face as you awaited a response.

“U- Uh! Well, I-I don’t really know!” Jimmy stuttered out, licking his lips and glancing off to the side in thought. “But... If I was to hazard a guess, knowing him it was... Probably because you were giving all your attention to CJ.”

_Huh?_

You were receiving a lot of curveballs today, it seemed. You met the guy barely a few hours ago! Wasn’t he just harmlessly flirting with you? He struck you as the playboy type. Helge didn’t even really know you, so why did you chatting to CJ strike a nerve?

“Helge likes being the centre of attention, you see.” Jimmy continued, his fingers tapping against the back of your hand idly. “And, hah, I’m sure you’ve noticed how he thinks... Less with his head, and more with, well, y’know.”

His dick? Sure.

“Hmm... Now that I think about it, maybe he was hurt that you asked CJ to dinner!” Your eyes returned to Jimmy’s face, which was scrunched up in confusion at the suggestion. You had a sneaking suspicion as to why, now that Jimmy had elaborated a bit, but you didn’t want to believe that some stranger was... Jealous due to you talking to someone else. Someone else you had known for longer, too!

“Heaven’s knows why, I understand you enjoy CJ’s cooking quite a bit, and for good reason! He’s probably the town chef, outside of the multitude of other jobs he balances.”

CJ really was a jack of all trades. God obviously favoured him.

“That’s nice to know, thanks Jimmy.”

You both walked back in mostly-comfortable silence, swinging your arms back and forth in the breeze. The grey clouds above had yet to burst, but it surely made the return through the forest a bit darker. You weren’t scared, though. With Jimmy here, you felt pretty safe, even though he looked like he could barely hurt a fly.

Soon the soft light of lanterns came into view, the town centre following not long after. It was still midday, but the grey above had begun to turn darker. Not a single ray of sunshine poked through, bathing the world in a soft, foggy shade that made it seem later than it actually was.

“Oh dear, I sure hope it doesn’t rain quite yet...” Jimmy muttered, tugging you off in a direction. He passed by the bakery, and the butchers, and pulled down the path that led to the inn.

This time, he took a left at the junction, leading down a cobbled path.

The only cobbled path in the town, actually.

You noticed a rocky, cement building ahead of you. It was one story tall, in fact one-room big, with dying brown vines squeezing the life out of it. You were expecting something similar to a prison maybe, with a reception area, and a sheriff, multiple cells lining the inside...

But, much to your surprise, there was just one big cell. Its entrance and exit were thick bars that were thinly spaced apart, flecks of rust peeling and littering the cold stone floor

It was left open, fully at mercy to the weather. You could see mould, or maybe it was moss, growing in the corners of the room. The floor was cracked, and the bed that was pushed up against one of the walls had a metal frame and no mattress- just a ratty blanket and a couple pillows. There wasn’t even a toilet, just a bucket (thankfully empty) and a tiny pit for shits, probably.

It looked unsanitary, and uncomfortable, and all-around a pretty terrible place.

This seemed a little inhumane for Jimmy’s tastes...

“I know... Not quite the prison I envisioned, but we have to make do for now until I can renovate.” Jimmy sighed, obviously not eager to ever use such a daunting and harsh building.

“Luckily, none of our wonderful town members have ever _had_ to use it! And I plan to keep it that way.” He swatted his hands lightly against the decaying bars, and particles of red rust drifted to the floor.

Once again you admired the trust and belief he had in his townsfolk. Then again, maybe a small town where everyone knew one another led to low crime rates. The cell sure looked unused, so that was probably the case, right?

“If anything, I wish for it to become a relic of the past. The forest can have it for all I care.” You subconsciously traced little patterns along the side of his thumb as he spoke, agreeing completely.

Though you got here just yesterday, you figured that the dungeon rotting away and returning to the earth would be a far better alternative than using it. It looked on the verge of collapse, anyway.

“Yeah, actually, that’s a good idea.” You agreed, turning to face him with a sorrowful expression.

You didn’t want to imagine what a night in there would be like.

“I’m happy to see you agree!” Jimmy tugged you around, away from the isolated cell, beginning to return down the pathway once more.

“Well, that’s all I’ve got to show you! I imagine you want to have a little explore yourself?” That was exactly what you wanted to do. You really enjoyed the others’ company, but having some time to yourself to sort out your still rather muddled head would be lovely.

Your memories before showing up in town were still quite hazy, so you wanted to try and figure out what that was all about...

And also maybe wander the forest a little.

It wasn’t necessarily inviting, not in the slightest, but you just _knew_ something was hiding out there. You could practically feel it in your bones.

“Yeah, I was thinking of just wandering about for a little bit, sort out my head and stuff.”

Jimmy hummed again and nodded, dropping your hand once you had reached the town centre once again. The well still stood proud as the centrepiece, bell softly chiming in the wind.

“I’ll see you around, muffin.” There he goes again with that nickname. “Take care! We can talk some more about your stay later in the evening, have fun!”

Jimmy turned tail and walked off towards his house, leaving you with yourself, and your thoughts, and the cold grey sky to keep you company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> only one more person to meet now :)  
> anyway! please tell me, do you prefer these longer chapters? or shorter ones like the first couple??  
> also please leave me any feedback or ideas if you have them! i always appreciate comments, and am happy to consider any ideas if i think they could work
> 
> bob - lazarbeam  
> jack - ponk


	5. Masked men in creepy forests? What can go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> // WARNING! there is a mild panic attack early into this chapter

Your feet carried you off without much thought, and after digging through your small satchel, you pulled out the fruit from this morning.

It still shone a tantalising bright red, and you hummed at the sweetness of the Cripps Pink apple when you took a bite.

Kicking a rock, you split off the path, heading deep into the forest. It was still as creepy as the first time you’d passed through it, but you felt a little lighter knowing that the village inhabiting it wasn’t as haunted as people made it out to be.

It was a lovely place, even, with lovely little buildings and lovely people.

You ducked under a few low hanging branches, trying to avoid the trees’ and their grabbing claws. They reached out to you, attempting to hold you in a sharp grasp, rip your clothes and tangle your hair. Unfortunately for them, you were far too versed in weaving around obstacles, continuing to duck under branches and side step thorny bushes.

Trekking through the forest was repetitive as everywhere looked the same, but you took comfort in the feeling of getting lost. You could let your mind wander.

Such as to your failing memory. It irked you to no end that you were struggling to remember anything before that carriage ride. You had come from somewhere, come _here_ for one reason or another, and yet you couldn’t remember a thing.

Where did you even come from?

You vaguely recalled a home, your home, with wooden log houses and coloured lanterns hanging from wire across the entire nation- wait, the nation?

What nation??

And what were your true intentions for even showing up at Not-A-Very-Good-Town to begin with? You had told CJ that it was probably related to the rumours, and sure, that would make the most sense, but you felt like it was deeper than that.

Like this was the only place you could be right now.

You clicked your tongue in frustration, brushing a hand back through your hair. At this rate you were going to get nowhere; all it was proving to do was run you in circles.

Suddenly, your satchel snagged on a branch, pulling you to an abrupt stop. You almost face planted into the dead foliage beneath you if not for your quick reaction speed, landing hands-first instead of face-first.

It took a moment of awkward manoeuvring to stand up and remove the satchel from the cursed hand of the tree, but you managed, picking up the book that had fallen out in the stumble.

Maybe now was as good a time as any to take a break.

You set your satchel down beneath a tree, sitting atop it so that your ass didn’t get dirty, book in hand.

Your apple had fallen down in the scuffle with the tree, so you decided to just leave it for the minimal wildlife this place probably had to offer.

A fox would probably like the snack.

Opening the book, you allowed yourself to drift off into the fantasy world below you. Twists, turns, the protagonist’s struggles and inevitable overcoming of tribulations... The story weaved itself into existence before you with ease. You couldn’t help getting so invested, sitting there occupied for hours- hours of which you didn’t necessarily have.

It was dark by the time you realised where you were and what was going on.

That book had really worked well as a distraction, but now that it was pitch black and you were practically lost, you were beginning to regret losing yourself so easily to the story.

Standing up and stashing the book away into the bag, you slung it over your shoulder, looking around for some indication as to where you are.

There was no such thing, unfortunately, but what you could see was a faint light flickering in the distance. It didn’t look to be one of the town’s lanterns, but it was light so that was a start.

You walked slowly towards it, careful not to stumble or trip. This forest was a pain to traverse at night.

After weaving around too many trees to count, you came face to face with a burning fire. It was bright, and warm, and made up part of an impromptu campsite.

There was a decaying log set to the side as a bench, and a hole-filled tent of sorts perched between two trees, barely standing. You took note of a backpack in front of the tent, and only then when you looked at the opening did you spot tufts of brown hair.

“Um, hello?” You stepped around the fire, crouching down in an attempt to see whoever was inside the tent.

The opening wasn’t very big, just enough for you to see the broad back of a man kneeling in the doorway, head tilted down with some of his fluffy hair catching on the top of the tent.

The man turned around in surprise, and you almost let out a shriek at the cracked sheep skull that met your face. You stood and stumbled backwards from shock, feet losing their fitting and disappearing from underneath you.

Then, you screamed, because you were about to be plunged into the depths of that hot campfire behind you and its heat only grew closer and closer to you by the second, your neck becoming clammy and hot-

Your hands searched for something, anything at all to grab hold onto.

 _Jesus_ , please don’t let this happen!

Lucky you, because they found purchase in a pair of large, scarred hands that pulled you up and forward, the momentum sending you directly into a strong chest where you were held for a few moments as your breathing tried to even itself out.

Holy shit, you had almost given yourself third degree burns.

Could you have died?

Fuck. _Fuck_.

You barely registered that you were sobbing into the man’s cloak as his hand rubbed firm circles on your back. Your breathing was quick and panicked, and you were pumped so full with adrenaline that your heart felt like it was beating its way through your ribcage, out of your chest.

You couldn’t help but clutch onto him for dear life, and you felt him move so the both of you were sitting down, which you were more than grateful for because your legs were on the verge of collapsing from under you anyway.

He leaned down next to your ear, you could feel his lips ghosting the shell of it, and he began to lead your breathing.

“Come on, breathe with me.” He sucked in his breath and held it for four seconds, blowing out through his mouth and holding that for another four seconds.

The mystery currently-unmasked, masked man continued to help you steady your breathing, and soon enough you had calmed down and your heartrate had lowered. You kept your forehead rested against his chest, focusing on the pine and honey smell of his cloak as you breathed in and out.

You closed your eyes, listening to his heartbeat, listening to _your_ heartbeat. That was right, you were alive, you were fine.

You loosened your bruising grip from his cloak, hands falling to your lap, forehead still pressed against his chest, grounding yourself by the touch.

“...You alright?” The man piped up, breaking the silence filled by only crackles and pops from the fire.

You wet your lips with your tongue, swallowing dryly before even bothering to respond.

“Yeah, I feel like a million bucks.” You drawled, heavy sarcasm dripping from every word.

Despite the circumstances, the man you were currently curled up into let out a wheezing laugh, brushing a hand through the tips of your hair in a comforting gesture, you think.

“Sorry, sorry, yeah that was a pretty shit question.”

You couldn’t help the shaky smile at the way he wheezed out, your chest feeling lighter. Sheep-mask-man continued to curl his fingers about in your hair until you pulled back from his chest, pulling a hand up to wipe at your damp eyes. His hand settled around the base of your neck like Helge’s had earlier, fingernails grazing feather light lines across your nape.

You didn’t bother to push it off because you were still shaken, and appreciated the soft touch.

“I’m, um, better, sorry about that.” A wet laugh left your mouth, and you glanced up to meet the man’s eyes.

You couldn’t, though, because they were covered by that same bone-white sheep skull that had scared the shit out of you earlier. That was technically the reason you had launched yourself backwards in the first place, but it really wasn’t his fault.

“No worries.” He pulled his hand out of your hair and stood up, pulling you to your feet with his hands under your elbows. Your legs were still a little wobbly, so he held you up while they settled.

“Sooo...” The man drew out, looking down at you through that really intimidating mask. “What exactly are you doing here? Didn’t know the creepy forest offered up pretty ladies.”

“And here I thought that creepy masked murderers in forests were all a myth.” You prodded back, but there was a teasing tone in your voice.

“Touché.” He laughed, dropping your elbows now that you were steadily standing.

Looking him over, you took in his appearance. He wore a green cloak that tapered at the back, the hood down, and was unfortunately stained with your tears and spit and snot, probably. At the front under it was a white blouse, paired with some chunky black boots and baggy trousers. You took notice of a pair of black gloves discarded on the forest floor.

Though, the most striking part of his entire getup was the pure white sheep skull covering all of his face, masking you from everything but the tufts of brown hair sticking out around it. You shivered at the sight, still rather unsettled by it.

Was it real?

You didn’t let it affect you, though, because whoever this man was he... Had basically saved you. He couldn’t be all that bad.

“I’m Cornelius,” He introduced, before tilting his head to the side, “but please call me _Dream_.”

Dream? That was a bit of an odd nickname, but you assumed he preferred it to Cornelius... Which was quite a posh name, was he a noble or something?

“Dream,” You tested the name on your tongue before introducing yourself, smiling up at him, “it’s nice to meet you.”

“Pleasure’s all mine, princess.” He pushed his mask up a bit, and you saw the lower half of his face, a toothy smile on his lips. You just about noticed the tiny freckles dotting the sides of his cheeks and jaw.

Dream swiped up your hand and planted a kiss to the back of it, much to your sudden surprise. You quickly yanked your hand back into yourself, face pretty fucking red; that was a bold move.

“So like I asked before,” He plopped down onto the rotting log nearby, pulling the mask back over his grinning expression, “what are you here for? Are you lost?”

You faltered a little at his question, mind still on his soft lips against your hand, before dropping onto your ass beside him on the log.

“Sort of, but not really?” You planted your elbows onto your knees, leaning your head in your hands. “I’m staying at the town in these woods, but, uh, I... Got a bit turned around.” You sheepishly scratched at your neck.

“Huh, Not-A-Very-Good-Town?” You hummed in response to his question, and he fiddled about with the black gloves you hadn’t noticed he put on.

“Funny, I was actually heading there myself. It got a bit dark though, so I set up camp.” Dream motioned around to the shoddy campsite he had made quick work of.

There was no way in hell _you_ were going to stay in this for a night, and so there was no way he was, either.

“Why don’t we head back together?” You offered, despite literally being lost.

“The inn I’m staying in is way more comfortable than...” Leaning forward, you saw he had a sleeping bag, and a blanket. “Your current sleeping arrangement.”

Dream seemed to sit in thought for a few moments, contemplating your words. That was fair considering at least he had a place to stay tonight. If you pulled him off in search of the town, there was a chance you would both just get even more lost, and aimlessly wander the night away.

You personally thought it was a risk worth taking for the chance to stay in the inn’s beds, though.

“I guess an actual bed beats sleeping on twigs and stones.” He commented, black-clad fingers brushing over the bark of the log you both sat on.

“It really will!” You excitedly told him, standing up so you could usher him to pack his things. “The inn is so lovely, and the owner is nice, and the _rooms,_ my God, they are so comfortable and spacious and honestly worthy of a lot of money, but he’s letting me stay for free? Which is a bit weird, but I’m not complaining cause I don’t actually think I have any money with me anyway and, uh, and,”

You looked over at Dream and immediately shut up when you realised he had stopped his packing to stare at you, probably bemused at your ramblings.

“Way better than a sleeping bag.” You finished awkwardly, you hadn’t meant to run your mouth like that but the place really _was_ good. And CJ was also a great host.

“I bet.” He chirped in response, rolling his sleeping bag and thin tent into a brown satchel, bigger in comparison to yours.

Dream spent barely 5 minutes dismantling the camp and, once he had lit a small lantern he apparently owned, he put out the fire. You were ready to be off in no time at all.

“There. I would ask you to lead the way, but you’d probably get us more lost.” He snidely remarked, and you knew for a fact that a teasing smile was on his face.

“That’s not true!” You defended as he started to lead the way.

Maybe if you walked for long enough you would see one of the town lanterns.

“Sure it isn’t.”

While you continued to wander aimlessly- because let’s face it, even if Dream had a good sense of direction, you still felt like you were walking in circles- the two of you quipped back and forth with banter.

Despite having met Dream not even thirty minutes ago, you felt comfortable in his presence. Maybe it was the semi-traumatising event where you almost dunked your head in flames? The way you wept into his chest and stained his cloak with tears? How he held you, and consoled you, and played with your hair?

“And- and, I tell you, he was basically naked!” You recounted to him, grinning and shaking your head in disbelief. “At least, I thought he was when I saw him- was wearing some underwear, though.”

Dream wheezed out that same asthmatic laugh you had grown to love hearing, tilting his head away and planting the mask into his hand.

“He- he- he did?? Oh my God,” Dream belted out more laughter. You didn’t find it _that_ funny, but his laugh was the most contagious thing. You chuckled and nodded your head enthusiastically

“Really! You should have seen him later in the afternoon, poor guy, he was shivering so much- it- it was pretty cold... I, uh, gave him my shawl, actually, I think that helped...?” You tapered off, solemnly remembering the way he looked at you when you had. With such a soft gaze, it had shocked you that such a loud and chaotic man could be so gentle.

Dream simply hummed in response to your quiet words, about to talk if not for the sudden light in your peripheral view.

“Oh! Dream, look, it’s over there,” You noticed the lantern you had spotted when you first entered the village yesterday. How had you not realised where you were? The path was right under your feet.

“Come on!” With an excited laugh, you started dragging him towards the village, hand clasped around his wrist.

He didn’t complain and simply took long strides behind you, and soon you were back in the village. You turned back to face Dream and saw him looking around, taking everything in like you had earlier.

“Tomorrow I can take you to the mayor and he can show you around?” You continued pulling him behind you, making your way towards the inn, turning down the junction.

“Sounds solid.” He pulled his mask up again, barely, and lifted the lantern to his lips. With a light blow, the light fizzled out, and he looped the empty lantern around his belt.

You could hear it smack against his thigh as you both walked up to the front of the inn.

“This that inn you were gushing about earlier, hm, princess?” You had noticed it earlier, but you honestly didn’t think he would keep using that nickname for you. You couldn’t help but blush.

“U- Uh, yeah, it is! It is.” You pushed open the door and walked inside, holding it open so he could pass through and join you.

The both of you dragged in mud and a few sticks, and you felt bad for CJ who would inevitably have to clean it up later. Maybe you could offer to help him?

A deep voice called out your name, and you turned around with a smile to greet CJ.

“Where’ve you been? Jimmy’s been shittin’ himself trying to find you, ya know.” CJ commented as he rounded the bar, having exited the kitchen when you arrived.

“Got real scared when you weren’t here come dark.” He was wearing an apron and you noticed his gloves weren’t on.

You also noticed the delicious scent of chicken and realised he was making dinner.

Then, you felt bad because you had worried Jimmy.

“Oh... I’ll have to apologise to him tomorrow morning.” You thought aloud before feeling a presence standing behind you. Dream was stood close behind you, seemingly eyeing up the red-eyed man before you.

“That reminds me!” Reaching around his back, you pushed Dream forward, patting his shoulder. “This is Dre- um, Cornelius! I... Found him in the forest earlier-“

“So you’re draggin’ in strays now, huh?” CJ joked and you scratched your neck, shaking your head in defense.

“He was on his way here!” You looked up at Dream’s mask, and he turned to face you with a taunting tilt of his head. Smiling, you punched his arm lightly. “I saved him from sleeping in some dingy little tent-“

“Hey! Who are you to insult my tent?” Dream whined at you, and you chuckled a little. It was nice to joke about with someone like this; it had been so long since you’d last been this comfortable with someone...

Huh.

...How did you know that?

“You’ll be glad you got dragged here when you try out our rooms- it’s 15 gold a night.” CJ piped up, leaning idly against the wall near the kitchen door.

Your eyebrows shot upwards at his statement and you could hear Dream hum in amusement from beside you.

You were staying here for free, but CJ was offering up a room at a price?

What kind of special treatment were you getting??

“Sounds like a bargain.” Dream didn’t appear too pressed about that though, and he simply pulled out a hefty pouch from his satchel.

You couldn’t quite see into it from where you stood, but you could practically hear all the expenses within the bag.

What was it with you and finding rich people?

And why on Earth was a man with so much money camping out in some ripped tent in the middle of nowhere??

Dream was an enigma.

You wanted to figure him out _bad_.

He passed over the gold to CJ, who hummed and weaved around the bar to grab one of the keys from behind the front desk. Like he had with you, CJ chucked it over to Dream, who caught it with ease.

His reflexes were insane- he had managed to catch you earlier, so that didn’t surprise too much.

“First door on the right.”CJ exclaimed, and Dream simply nodded, pocketing his pouch again and starting towards the stairway. You went to follow him out of instinct, but CJ looped an arm around your shoulders and tugged you back.

“Ya not joining me for dinner?” He rumbled deeply, and with his arm around you, you could feel the vibrations of his deep-ass voice shoot through you.

You had almost forgotten about that.

“Oh! Yeah, I am, I was just gonna-“

“Is there enough for me?” Dream called from atop the first step, leaning around the corner with a hand on the wall. The cold glare the sheep skull gave you sent shivers down your spine- you don’t think you’ll ever get used to it.

CJ tensed beside you, and you wondered if the mask intimidated him a bit too.

“Uhh... I guess, man.” He hesitantly dropped his arm from around you, sending a blank stare in Dreams direction before waving his hand, walking back into the kitchen. “It’ll be ready in ten.”

Now that CJ was gone, you jogged over to Dream, hopping up the steps two-by-two in order to catch up with him. He looked down at you, and you shot him that same happy smile you’d been sending him ever since you stopped crying.

He liked the sight of it. He wanted to see you smile more. Smile at _him_ more.

When you reached the top, he unlocked the door to his room, and pushed it open wide. You didn’t want to be impolite, but you also wanted to see what his room would look like.

Comparatively to yours, it was about half the size. The bed was still a huge and king-sized, but that meant it took up a lot more room. He had a small desk with a chair, a wardrobe and a small bookcase. There was a little sofa chair, too, probably to sit and read in.

Homely, and still better than a sleeping bad, but it wasn’t _your_ room.

“This looks pretty nice.” He commented, and you hummed in agreement, standing in the doorway as he set down his satchel.

He looked up at you and stared you down, but you were too lost in the clouds to notice.

“You going to just stand there and stare, or are you gonna come in?” Dream pulled the cloak from his shoulders and set it on the desk, and you finally snapped out of your daydream.

“Oh- w- wait, come in?” Why would you do that?

“Yeah,” He slipped off his gloves next and pulled his arms above his head, stretching.

You shamelessly watched his muscles tense against the material of the shirt.

“We can just chill in here until the guy down there’s done making the food. Unless you have something to do...?”

You shook your head no and stepped inside, lightly closing the door behind you with some reluctance.

Dream only chuckled at your actions and began rustling through his bag. He produced a black t-shirt, and without even a second glance in your direction, began to strip.

“Dream! Wait- What the fuck!” You shouted out in surprise, and embarrassment, and Jesus Christ you were going to have a heart attack you could see his abs already from the little he lifted up, please don’t put it back down-

You swiftly turned away and cursed your own thoughts.

Why did this feel worse than seeing Helge practically naked?

“You’re insufferable!” You exclaimed loudly, and he let out a wheezing laugh. The shuffling of fabric continued for a few moments before he told you to turn around.

You were more than reluctant to, but when you did you saw he was already dressed in the tight black shirt. Thank God.

But also, curse him, just a little.

“You’re bright red, you know?”

You grabbed a pillow from the sofa chair and chucked it directly at him, hitting him square in the mask.

It didn’t come as a surprise when he burst out into a fit of wheezing laughter, hunching over for a few seconds before swiping up the pillow you had thrown and chucking it back onto the chair beside you.

“That was a bad idea, _princess_.” The way he said that made your blood run cold.

Dream sauntered forward, looking down at you through the sheep skull, hands up as if he was ready to grab you.

He lunged forward and you shrieked in surprise, laughing nervously as you dodged. Weaving around the bed, you backed away.

“Get back here-“

Dream twisted on his feet and ran at you again, so you dodged around him again and made a run for the bookshelf. He followed behind you closely, but you had grabbed the pillow on the way and threw it directly at him again, causing him to stumble back with a chuckle.

You took cautious steps backwards as he set the cushion back down, turning towards you slowly. You really wished that his face was visible right now, because the sheep mask was terrifying.

You felt like you were being hunted.

When he next dashed at you, you only had a few seconds to realise that your knees were against the bed’s frame. Twisting around, you dived over the bed in an attempt to escape.

It didn’t work. He grabbed your ankle and yanked you backwards, and you tumbled to the floor with an ‘oof’, sitting on your stomach. His feet were tucked behind him and on your knees- his weight kept you pinned.

His mask was tilted up, and you could just about see the smug smile on his face.

“Get off me you fat ass-“ You groaned at him, slapping a hand at his stomach.

Dream only pushed his weight further onto your stomach, and you let out a wheeze because he weighed a lot more than you did. Muscle was pretty heavy.

“Fucking- my God, Drea-eam, Dream you’re so fucking heavy!” You yelled to the best of your ability, laughing breathlessly, still smacking hopelessly at his stomach.

He didn’t relent, leaning down and taunting you with that big grin on his face.

The both of you paused at the banging on the door, along with the accompanying voice.

“Food’s gonna get cold if you don’t hurry up.” CJ’s deadpan voice called through the door, and you struggled to sit up, Dream slipping back onto your thighs to give you the chance to.

“Yeah, gotcha.” Dream responded without a hint of the exhaustion evident in your voice. You weren’t used to racing about so much.

CJ’s footsteps disappeared down the hallway, probably to get you (even though you were very much not in your room right now).

You let out a sigh and went to stand up, only to realise Dream was very much still sat on you, taking comfort on your lap now, _apparently_.

“Y’know,” Dream began, turning to face you and still not getting off of you. Why was he not getting off of you? “I don’t think that guy likes me very much.”

“CJ’s just-“

You didn’t get to finish your statement as you heard said man yelling for you outside, his booming footsteps nearing Dream’s door.

With as much strength as you could muster, you shoved Dream off of you, barely managing because the man was almost solid muscle.

Still, he was off, and you stood up and brushed yourself down, turning away from him because you were blushing- which was fair enough! The man was sitting on your lap not even a minute ago! You were allowed to be embarrassed.

The door burst open with a surprisingly emotive CJ standing in the doorway, his bloody eyes darting about till he caught sight of you. You were going to explain to him that you’d just been spending time with Dream, that you were okay, that you were coming down for dinner now anyway, but he’d already pulled you forward and into-

He was hugging you. It was protective and genuine and you were confused as to why someone you’d met yesterday was so... So scared for you.

“Fuckin’ hell I get why Jim was so frantic earlier.” He muttered into your hair, and you didn’t know whether to try return his hug or just let him hold you.

This felt nice, but you were still very, very confused.

CJ unlatched himself from around you, and with a dangerous-looking glare towards Dream and no other words, he lead you downstairs to the food.

Dream’s footsteps followed after you both.

“Um-“

“I don’t trust him.” CJ hissed darkly under his breath to you, just out of earshot (or so you hoped) from Dream. “There’s somethin’ not right with him.”

You were taken aback by his forward words, and almost went to defend the masked man, but he rounded the corner and you let your words die in your throat, along with the conversation.

Slipping out of CJ’s hold, you walked over to the table set out with two dishes. Chicken, potatoes and a pile of chopped carrots greeted your nose, and you sunk into the delicious smell of the food.

You dropped into one of the seats, and unsurprisingly CJ took the seat opposite you, forcing Dream to sit a few tables away with his meal.

The silence was thick and weird around you, but you chose to dig into your food and ignore the tension instead of address it.

The food was as good as it smelled, chicken salty and moist, potatoes crispy and carrots soft. This was only your second meal cooked by CJ, but you couldn’t deny that it was yet again a masterpiece. One of the best things you’ve tasted.

“God, this is delicious,” You muttered between bites, and CJ smiled down at you with a prideful expression. He looked to have calmed down now, and was back to the lazy-looking owner of the inn.

“S’nothin’ much.” He replied coolly and you digressed.

“No, really, you cook so well. I think I would eat anything you make, no questions asked.” You told him after swallowing the last of your chicken. He only laughed that deep, reverberating laugh of his, continuing to eat his own food at a slower rate.

Dream was done quicker than you were, and as he walked by with a half-assed ‘thanks’, you wondered why he was so much quieter than before. There was way less energy than when he had been with you.

CJ didn’t even reply and simply nodded his head towards the kitchen. Without another word, Dream set the plate down on the bar (not in the kitchen) and walked off upstairs, leaving you and CJ to your lonesome.

“Fuckin’...” CJ scowled and shook his head, stuffing a sliver of chicken into his mouth, moody and angry-looking.

You didn’t want this evening to end on a bad note, so you decided to lighten the mood.

Or, um.

...Ask him about what he had said this morning.

“Hey, uh, CJ?” The man turned towards you when you spoke, sending you this soft gaze despite being pissy a few moments prior. You were getting whiplash from all these sudden flips of emotion.

“What’s up?”

“You know this morning, you said something about this town uh... What was it, um, it was... Oh! You said something was definitely going on here.” You watched his eyebrows furrow again, but he looked more nervous than upset.

“What did you mean?” You pressed, and CJ immediately leaned over the table, arms planted either side of your plate.

“Listen. This place ain’t exactly a haven, some shit’s gone down here before.” His voice was low when he spoke, careful.

What he had said was news to you. There was very little you could find out about this place, other than the typical description of it being a ‘ghost town’, or ‘haunted’.

“But, it’s not just that.” You listened intently to what he was going to say next, feeling on edge and anxious. What else was there?

“I hear a lot, y’know, working at the farm and doin’ the odd job around town. There’s not much that I don’t know ‘bout town gossip ‘n such.”

You fiddled with your fork as he spoke.

“And...” CJ trailed off and looked out the window, and his gaze shifted. The _atmosphere_ shifted.

“This place isn’t safe. It never has been, there’s always been dodgy stuff goin’ on, but I think you showing up has opened up a lot of opportunities for-“

The front door slammed open and Jimmy called out to you, rushing over and wrapping you in a crushing hug before you could even blink.

“Oh my goodness, I wasn’t sure if you would come back! Where you had gone! Oh dear, I’m so happy to see you alive and well, you silly muffin, you gave me such a scare!” Jimmy coddled you and pulled your face into his hands, tilting it side to side as he peered all over you.

“You aren’t hurt are you? Did you get lost?? I should’ve known, this place can be quite the maze to newcomers!” He hugged your face close to his chest, and you tried to sputter out some words of reassurance, if only to get him to stop suffocating you.

“Jimmy, I’m- okay,” You muttered, pulling out of his hold and placing a reassuring hand onto his shoulder.

When you looked him in the eyes, you saw they were bloodshot and immediately felt guilty for having disappeared so abruptly on him.

But, once again, why were they getting so emotional over you?

“Please, don’t do that again!” He shook his head and swiped a hand under his glasses to wipe at his eyes. “It... Really worried me.”

He looked tired, his eyes solemn and pleading. Jimmy really had been panicking because of you, you could see it in the way his shoulders slumped and the way his smile wasn’t quite reaching his eyes.

He was more than happy to see you, but he was exhausted from worry.

“I won’t.” Was all you could promise, and he seemed to find comfort in those words.

You realised by then that CJ had walked off with your plates, and Dream’s, and was nowhere to be seen. Probably doing the dishes.

As happy as you were to see Jimmy, you were a bit frustrated- CJ had been saying something, but now that he had gone off and Jimmy was here, you probably wouldn’t be able to ask him about it until tomorrow.

Curse inconvenient timing.

“Jimmy,” You faced him and placed a soft hand onto his shoulder. It was the least you could offer after he had been so frantically fretting over you. “You should go get some rest. You look exhausted.”

He was dishevelled, his waistcoat unbuttoned and shirt sleeves rolled up unevenly, shirt untucked. You knew Jimmy was a put-together man, and it saddened you to see him so broken down, over you no less.

The man only nodded, pulling you forward and into a softer, far less breathless hug. You returned it this time without a second thought, pressing your nose into his shoulder.

You needed it as much as he did, honestly, because today was a fucking train wreck.

“I will see you tomorrow! We still must talk about accommodation, but that can wait. Please, get some rest too, you muffin.”

Of course Jimmy would be the kind of man to tell _you_ to rest when he had been stressing all day.

“You too. I hope you sleep well.”

You smiled at him, and he smiled back, and left the inn with the click of the front door. It was eerily silent without a companion, and it almost felt like time had stopped. You couldn’t hear Dream upstairs, or CJ cleaning up in the kitchen; you only knew you hadn’t suddenly gone deaf because you could hear your own breaths.

God. You needed to sleep.

You were sluggish making your way upstairs. When you passed Dream’s room, you momentarily contemplated bidding him goodnight, but you decided that he deserved to rest undisturbed.

When you made it into the room, and locked the door behind you, you all but collapsed on to the bed.

Today had been an interesting day, filled with a lot for you to wrap your head around, and even more for you to just think about.

All this new bullshit to worry about made your head hurt, though.

So, you decided to sleep on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh boy!! that’s about 6k words if you’re wondering, i sure hope that isn’t too much for you guys to get stuck into- tell me if it was too all-over-the-place!
> 
> what do you think is going on with reader’s memories? why do all these new acquaintances of hers keep coddling her so much?? and what the hell is dream’s issue??
> 
> cornelius/dream - dream


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